The Top 18 Pizza Chains In The US Ranked From Worst To Best

4. California Pizza Kitchen

California-style pizza is the newest among American pizza styles, developed in the early 1980s in the San Francisco bay area by two chefs, Alice Waters and Ed LaDou.

This sweet crust and minimal sauce style may seem like a defiance to pizza purists. But from a pure flavor standpoint, we have to admit that stuff is hard to beat. The toppings are the freshest of any major chain, and the more traditional combinations like barbecue chicken and Margherita pizzas can hold their own with any other. The experience at CPK, assuming that you're not hastily grabbing it at an airport, is also far more pleasant than most chains. Like anything from California, it's typically far from traditional. But in the right frame of mind, it can still be pretty cool.